Hills of the West Wind
Tasmania at a crossroads
In Tasmania two cultures have been in conflict. One demands that the island's material resources be exploited at the expense of its other qualities. The other culture places greatest value on its natural and aesthetic assets.
There need be no such conflict. Constructive planning and positive thinking can resolve these past differences; the cultures are not mutually exclusive. Australians can either go on to a new, positive era of cooperation or return to the dark days of distrust.
Hills of the West Wind has immediate relevance and importance as the book that examines the sources and development of the two cultures and offers insights into future directions for the nation and the island.
I invite you to listen to Chris reading extracts from Hills of the West Wind.
Mount Gell from Calders Lookout: a key point, both for landscape and human activity.
It look's like you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now.
Introduction
Chris introduces his reflections, appealing for the preservation of one of the most beautiful lands in the world.
It look's like you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now.
Section II - A Varied Tapestry
The landscape is Tasmania's most valuable attribute.
It look's like you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now.
The Mountain Kingdom
In any vision of the land, hills are the essential frame and mountains command the Tasmanian landscape to such an extent that they create much of its character.
It look's like you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now.
Coasts of Contrast
Names tell their stories: Payne Bay, Joe Page Bay, The Spring River, Bramble Cove, Settlement Point; … many of the major features have associations with people, ships and events over the centuries since the people of the South-west Tribe ruled their own country. But for much of Tasmania's coastline, the severity of climate and landform belies its fragility.
It look's like you don't have Adobe Flash Player installed. Get it now.
The Magic of the Tiers
The Western Tiers, those high mountain walls which guard the Plateau along its northern and eastern flanks ... are one of the most remarkable and visible landforms on the island. The climb (of the nine-hundred-metre barrier which separates the two worlds) provides time to make the imaginative adjustment.